


Meeting Nayeli

by StephRametta



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-01
Updated: 2019-05-01
Packaged: 2020-02-10 23:25:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18670492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StephRametta/pseuds/StephRametta
Summary: He went to St. Mungo’s hoping to find something in his parents that he has long learned not to expect. Perhaps this time, he’ll find something else entirely.





	Meeting Nayeli

**Author's Note:**

> This will remain anonymous until the end of the contest, we would like to acknowledge that any characters, plots or locations are not ours they are the property of JK Rowling. 
> 
> I would like to thank my alpha/beta who will be named at the end

****

Neville walked along the rows of open doors in the hallway, catching earfulls of patient woes as he passed. Finally he approached the familiar door leading to his parents’ room at St. Mungo’s. It read: “Spell Damage Wing.” He walked through it as he had so many times before, and as the blue hospital light washed over him, his mood changed with it. He couldn’t help but feel a little down whenever he saw his parents. He knew they were heroes but he wanted to meet _them_ , not these poor shells they lived in.

His mother quickly jumped out of bed and began searching for her gum wrappers. Neville gave her a weak smile. His father slept, but not peacefully. He always twitched and giggled with madness. Neville was used to this, of course, and simply watched them with a kind of blankless stare, steeling himself to tell them.

He sat on the bed beside them. “I want to tell you both something. You-Know-Who is back. Forget who says otherwise, he is.”

Neville's father twitched awake and jumped up out of his sheets and onto his feet at the sight of Neville. His mother, still searching for gum wrappers, looked up in between searches to smile at him. Neville continued disregarding their chaos. It was as if this speech wasn’t really for them.

“I don’t want you to worry though. I’ve joined an army to defeat him, and I’m learning real defensive spells outside of Hogwarts classes.”

His mother reached over and gave him a gum wrapper, like she did every time he visited. He had hundreds of these meaningless things in his room from over the years. He smiled at her and pocketed it. She sat back on her heels and stared at the ceiling. He continued. “I’ll be OK. More than OK. I’m ready to fight.”

“Dark stuff, mate, and I reckon you’re right. But do you mind jumping out of bed? I need to feed my favorite patients,” said a nurse from the other side of the bed, rolling in two trays of food.

Neville could only see the profile of her face as he peered through the roses wrapped around the four poster bed his parents slept in. She was stunning, with curly blonde hair and golden eyes. She reminded him of warm sunshine. “Oh, I’m sorry.”

“No need to be sorry,” she said as she fully turned, placing a tray of food down for each of his parents and getting out their utensils. Now that she was fulling facing him, he saw a large burn that started at the top of her skull and traveled down the length of her face and neck, disappearing beneath her collar to peak out again on her right wrist, where it ended by twisting around her fingers. She had almost none of that beautiful curly blonde hair on the right side of her head. It seemed Neville had only seen her good side.

“Dragon,” she said without looking at him, while alternating spoon-feeding his parents.

“What?” Neville asked.

“I got burned by a dragon. I know you’re wondering but you’re too polite to ask,” she said as she gently wiped away some excess pudding from his mother's mouth.

Neville began to laugh nervously. “Oh, er.”

“A Peruvian Vipertooth. I was six years old when it happened. Oh, my name is Nayeli, by the way,” she added as she held the straw for Neville’s father while he drank his juice.

“I’m sorry that happened to you. I’m Neville Longbottom, but I — I guess you know that,” stammered Neville as he watched her hand his parents their end of the meal gum.

“Don’t be. I’m not. I want to work with dragons someday. C’mon, Neville, it’s time for rounds,” she said, looking at him and nodding her head in the direction she was walking. He awkwardly clambered to his feet, glancing back at his parents blowing bubbles with their gum as he followed her out of the room.

“I’ll tell you something,” Nayeli continued, leading him down the hall. “People have two reactions towards me. Either cruelty or sympathy. I don’t blame the dragon that did this to me. Animals don’t know their own strength sometimes. But they never judge you the way people do.”

“You remind me of my friend Hagrid. He loves any kind of creature. He is brave like you,” said Neville.

“I’ll gladly take that compliment from a Longbottom!” Nayeli said with a big smile.

Neville noticed she didn’t use her wand for lots of the work the other nurses did.

“Er, what year of school are you? I go to…”

Nayeli looked at Neville, who trailed off helplessly, with a look of confession before speaking. “I don’t go to school.”

“Why not?”

“I used to, but...” She paused again stopping at the end of the hall. “But the teasing became too much for me. So now I get home-schooled by my mum. Sometimes she's too busy, so it's not ideal. I don't think I’ll be one of those ‘ready-to-fight’ like you will be when You-Know-Who comes back, like you were telling your parents,” she admitted, hanging her head in shame.

Neville kindly lifted her chin up and said, “Come with me and my friends, and we’ll teach you defensive spells. We’d be lucky to have someone as brave as you join us.”

“I’ll take you up on that offer, Longbottom,” Nayeli said, smiling.

“I want you to, I mean it!” Neville said as he stared into her golden eyes, which blazed like the fire of the dragon that had transformed her.

“As sad as I am sometimes that I don’t get to go to school, I do love working here. It’s restored my faith in people because it shows me the simplicity that we lose.  
  
“Voldemort may have taken their minds but he can’t take their hearts.” She leaned forward and pulled the gum wrapper out of Neville’s pocket. “This is her language now. It’s not nothing. This is just how she says ‘I love you’ now.”

A lump was forming in Neville’s throat. He understood. He had never wanted anything more in his life — which was her way of seeing the good in the bad — but most of all, he wanted a kiss. He reached out and clasped his hand around her wrist, which was still holding the gum wrapper, and pulled her close, placing a gentle kiss upon her lips. He placed his hand on her scarred cheek and felt her body jolt in surprise.

But not for a second did he care about those scars.

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
